The present invention generally relates to a system for applying a liquid, such as a deicing liquid, upon a pavement surface. The present invention also relates to a pavement for facilitating the movement of traffic thereon, to a molded mat for stabilizing a material in which the mat is disposed and for supporting and maintaining a pipe beneath a surface of the material, and to a system for heating a material, such as a pavement material, and to a method of delivering a fluid to a material surface.
Many surfacing materials, such as soil, sand, gravel, concrete, and asphalt are subject to migration and erosion, as well as damage from vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Mats, such as mats possessing an array of upstanding tube segments, have been utilized to stabilize such surfacing materials and to help prevent migration and erosion, as well as to inhibit compaction, cracking, etc.
The prior art mats including an array of upstanding tubular segments have been applied in the following manners, for example. Such a mat is laid upon a bed of gravel, and then sod with grass or other vegetation is rolled over the mat and pressed into the tubular segments of the mat. Because the tubular segments prevent the soil from being compacted and thereby killing the grass, the sod may be subject to vehicular and pedestrian traffic without killing the grass or other vegetation. Such a mat has also been designed for employment in paving roads with asphalt. The mat is first laid on the road bed, and then asphalt is rolled over the mat and into the tubular segments. The tubular segments help prevent the asphalt from migrating, which might produce ruts in the road, and also are believed to help minimize disintegration and cracking of the asphalt.
The aforementioned types of mats have been described in the inventor""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,340 and the patent applications and patents mentioned therein, the disclosures of every one of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention generally relates to the use of such mats or modified versions of such mats in combination with pipe systems for delivering a fluid to the material in which the mat is embedded.
The present invention generally relates to a system for applying a liquid, such as a deicing liquid, to a surface material, such as soil, sand, gravel, concrete, and asphalt. The system includes a mat possessing an array of upstanding tubular members, and a pipe system maintained in the interstitial regions between the tubular members. In addition, a series of ports or nozzles may extend upwardly from the pipe such that the liquid drips or is sprayed on the surface of the material.